Red Bulls have two picks in first round, league-high seven picks overall in MLS draft

Mohamed Messara/EPAIke Opara, left, shown playing for the U.S. during the group match at the FIFA U-20 World Cup last September, is regarded as the top-rated player available in the MLS draft.Leave it to the Red Bulls to finish with one of the worst records in the history of Major League Soccer and still not have the No. 1 draft pick the following year.

That honor will go to the expansion Philadelphia Union in Thursday’s SuperDraft at the Philadelphia Convention Center. The Red Bulls do, however, have two picks in the first round and, barring trades, a league-high seven picks overall in the four-round draft.

Since scoring goals (a league-low 27 last season) and allowing goals (tied for second most with 47) were of equal levels of embarrassment in 2009, the Red Bulls, with the No. 2 overall pick, will have the opportunity to address a need very quickly.

Last year the Red Bulls went with defense, taking midfielder Jeremy Hall out of Maryland and converting him to right back. Although Hall earned a starting spot and showed promise, it’s likely defense will again be the priority, especially with the second designated player slot seemingly targeted for a goal-scorer to pair with Juan Pablo Angel.

With the Union believed to be seeking offensive help, and Danny Mwanga of Oregon State the likely choice, the Red Bulls may opt for Wake Forest defender Ike Opara, regarded as the top prospect in the draft, even though they just signed Costa Rican defender Roy Miller.

Other options might be Wake Forest midfielder Corben Bone or Akron forward Teal Bunbury, son of former Wizards forward Alex Bunbury and the winner of the Hermann Trophy as college soccer’s top player this past season.

The Red Bulls also have the No. 14 pick in the first round, courtesy of the Dominic Oduro trade to the Dynamo in May. The Red Bulls could go local here if Montville native and former Rutgers star Dilly Duka, is still available.

Duka, a midfielder, could fill the slot vacated by Venezuelan midfielder Jorge Rojas, whose option was not picked up after two disappointing seasons.

After that, who knows? The Red Bulls have two picks in the second round, two in the third and one in the fourth, but after last year, when their two second-round picks (Santa Clara defender Babajide Ogunbiyi and Notre Dame defender Jack Traynor) were not even signed, it’s pretty much hit-and-miss.

Last year’s third-round pick, James Madison midfielder Nick Zimmerman, not only made the team, but played 11 games (seven starts) and looked like a keeper. But the Red Bulls left him exposed in the expansion draft and he was snapped up by the Union in the offseason.

ON DECK

A day after MLS leaves town, Women’s Professional Soccer will hold its draft at the Philadelphia Convention Center.

Unlike MLS, which drafts in reverse order of finish including playoffs, WPS drafts in reverse order of regular-season finish.

That means Sky Blue FC, which won the inaugural championship, will draft sixth, based on its fourth-place finish and the addition of the two expansion teams, the Atlanta Beat and Philadelphia Independence.

Basking Ridge native and North Carolina All-American Tobin Heath is considered the top midfield prospect in the draft, but it’s highly unlikely she will be around when Sky Blue is on the board.ETC.

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